Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerFans look on as Ian Poulter tees off on the first hole at Bethpage Black, where the U.S. Open will begin on Thursday.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- He hit one ball. Then another. Then another. Vijay Singh was turning the par-four 7th hole at Bethpage Black into his own personal driving range during his practice round and still couldn't find the fairway. He finally turned to his caddie.

"I have no idea where to hit it," Singh said.

Since nobody here is afraid to share an opinion, one of the locals standing behind the tee box offered a suggestion.

"Play it like we do, Vijay," Tony Wallace said. "Pretend it's a par 5 and hope for a birdie."

Singh could only laugh. He is a three-time major winner with more than $61 million in career earnings, but this week, the spectators lined up six-deep along the ropes know more about the golf course than he does.

Or at least they think they do.

This is the beauty of the 109th U.S. Open, of course, and why the USGA rushed to get its championship back to Farmingdale just seven years after its first time here and why it resonates more with fans. This is not another country club open exclusively to Lexus-driving CEOs.

The Black belongs to everyone. The spectators in the galleries know how it feels to have a ball plugged in the bunker on the 13th, since they've slept in their cars for the privilege. They might not break 80 or 90 or even 100, but they have stood on these fairways and lined up these putts before.

As for the pros ...

"I don't even know where the first tee is," Ian Poulter said as he laced his spikes in the locker room Monday. He did not need to walk far if he wanted a few thousand tour guides.

Wallace, the fan who offered the free advice to Singh, would gladly volunteer. He was walking around the grounds in a jacket from the 2002 Open and a Bethpage Black hat that he said was "older than some of the golfers."

The 63-year-old retired school teacher first played here in 1960, back when the traps were rocky and the rounds took more than six hours. He saved the greens-fee pass from that round and the 40 or so since because the course has always had a special place in his life.

"The pros played here in '02, and they get their practice rounds and have good caddies," Wallace said as he watched Poulter tee off on No. 1. "But they have to know a hundred courses."

He smiled.

"I know this one."

Bethpage might be the newest Open course, but it has quickly become its most important. Aside from the majestic Pebble Beach and the iconic Pinehurst No. 2, it is hard to imagine a course the USGA would be less likely to drop out of its rotation than this one.

The reason is not just the Tillingham course, now a ridiculous 7,426 yards that Tiger Woods already declared "brutal" Monday. Bethpage Black is important because of what it symbolizes.

Just 9 percent of the golfers in this country belong to a private club, a number that figures to decline along with the economy. Yet the Black was the first true daily-fee golf course to host the Open. If you are a New York state resident and have $50 ($100 if you're not) you can get a tee time.

The relationship between the galleries and the course, as a result, is unique. Fans might know Augusta National after all these years, but to play it, you have to really know somebody -- like, say, Bill Gates.

To play Bethpage?

"I know Johnny, one of the groundskeepers," said Tony Caruso as he walked up the 18th hole with his friends. He used to eat breakfast in the parking lot with everybody else. "Now I can call him up and he'll say, 'Come out at 1 p.m.'"

Each tee box is loaded with back-seat drivers, assessing the placement of each shot. Kenny Perry found out the hard way during his weekend practice round when a few overeager onlookers followed his every step.

"Everybody I saw on the course said, 'This is my home course, I play here all the time, let me help you read the greens,'" the Masters runner-up said. "It was kind of funny."

Perry, who learned that game on a nine-hole public course in Kentucky, can appreciate their love for this place. He opened a course in his hometown where the green fees are $30 on the weekend, cart included, because he believes golf should be more inclusive.

For one week, at the most open of the Opens, the sport is exactly that. Fifteen amateurs will be vying for the same championship as Tiger and Phil. The best part? The weekend hackers lined up behind the ropes think they know this golf course better than any of them.

Steve Politi appears regularly in The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at spoliti@starledger.com, or follow him at Twitter.com/NJ_StevePoliti.